Verse Novel Book Club #2: Other Words for Home

Yesterday: Verse Novel Book Club Mtg #2, led by Dr. Sarah J. Donovan

📖 : Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga 

Drawing from observations of her father’s Syrian friends’ experiences, research done with her Middle Eastern community, and her big brain as my students would say... the novel centers on the protagonist of Jude, who moves from her home under civil unrest, with her mom, joining an uncle in Cincinnati. We follow Jude as she navigates questions of identity, culture, language, prejudice, and belonging, all while continuing to worry about and miss her family in Syria. Highly recommend the book for middle schoolers. Keep reading for my take-aways.

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Take-Away 1️⃣ 

As a teacher, I appreciated the challenge Dr. Donovan gave us of producing a CERR vblog on the book. I was not shocked that I scripted out various versions, recorded several times, with some technical difficulties, before I finally made my first far-from-perfect vlog I could share with the book club. It deepened my appreciation of the work and bravery my students put in when I ask them to try something new and share it with classmates. 

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Take-Away 2️⃣ 

As a reader, I loved this book! As a daughter of Mexican immigrants and a teacher of Latinx immigrant and Mexican-American students, I found so many moments portrayed in this book that called out to me and would perhaps also resonate with students. Particularly hit hard by a question Jude asks, “Why do they hate us?” I decided to make my first vlog focused on how Jude copes with the incidents of prejudice and xenophobia she experiences. I shared with a friend how powerful a book like this would’ve been for me as an adolescent and how grateful I am that it exists today for my students!

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Take-Away 3️⃣ 

As both a teacher + learner, I left the meeting feeling awkward, frustrated, and dissatisfied. Appreciated that Dr. Donovan shared resources about how to critically read + analyze texts, including particularly using a feminist lens, the question if this text qualifies as #ownvoices (your thoughts appreciated). I’m grateful to my UTEP educators for training me with such tools. I enjoyed the write-in and subsequent activity to convert our work to verse; love how students react! These activities weren’t the source of my frustration; I am still reflecting on what was.

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Passage I shared: pg 168. It really resonated with me, especially as I see photographs and footage of children in cages near the border. What Jude expressed on this page relates to themes of migrant guilt, family, privilege, sacrifice, and responsibility.

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I loved this book and look forward to the next one!